Asia news

• Bamboo scaffolding may be to blame for spread of Hong Kong tower block fire

  26-11-2025 20:12
  Hong Kong is one of the last places in the world where bamboo is widely by construction workersDeath toll in Hong Kong tower block fire rises to 36 with 279 reported missingA deadly fire in an apartment complex in Hong Kong appears to have spread in part because the buildings were sheathed in bamboo scaffolding, a traditional building material that the authorities have been phasing out for safety reasons.Dozens of people died on Wednesday in Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in decades. The blaze
  
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• Caviar and foie gras? China is becoming a luxury food powerhouse

  23-12-2025 03:00
  Low-cost domestic producers of prized delicacies are replacing imports and starting to break into export markets
  
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• More H-1B visa chaos

  23-12-2025 02:30
  Also in this newsletter: best of India Brief Q&As, and John Lombard’s mantra
  
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• TikTok’s Chinese owner plans $23bn AI spend to keep pace with US rivals

  23-12-2025 02:15
  ByteDance set to increase capital expenditure next year in effort to further build AI infrastructure
  
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• ByteDance plans $23bn AI spending spree to keep pace with US rivals

  23-12-2025 02:15
  TikTok’s Chinese owner set to increase capital expenditure next year in effort to further build AI infrastructure
  
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• The year of the tariff

  22-12-2025 18:25
  American trade policy is geared towards re-industrialisation — and it’s working
  
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• What is the status of Islamic State, the group linked to the Bondi attacks?

  22-12-2025 15:03
  Al-Qaida offshoot has lost 95% of the territory it gained in 2014 but remains a force to be reckoned with online Following police claims that the two men accused of the deadly antisemitic Bondi beach attack, Naveed and Sajid Akram, may have been inspired by Islamic State ideology and had recently visited a Philippine island where an IS affiliate is believed to have operated, what do we know about the group and its aims? Continue reading...
  
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• China hits EU dairy industry with tariffs of up to 42.7%

  22-12-2025 14:49
  Move made after first phase of anti-subsidy investigation widely seen as retaliation for bloc’sEV tariffsChina will impose provisional duties of up to 42.7% on certain dairy products imported from the EU from Tuesday after concluding the first phase of an anti-subsidy investigation widely seen as retaliation for the bloc’s electric vehicle tariffs.The tariffs will range from 21.9% to 42.7% – although most companies will pay about 30% – and target products such as milk and
  
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• China hits EU dairy industry with levies of up to 42.7%

  22-12-2025 09:45
  Move stokes an already strained trading relationship between Brussels and Beijing
  
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• Jeju Air crash: South Korea sets up independent inquiry into disaster that killed 179 amid delays and acrimony

  22-12-2025 07:33
  MPs vote to investigate crash amid accusations from victims’ relatives of cover-ups and delaysSouth Korea’s parliament has launched an independent inquiry into the deadliest air disaster on its soil amid accusations of investigation delays and cover-ups of last year’s Jeju Air crash.On 29 December 2024 all but two of the 181 people onboard a Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 died when it crashed at Muan international airport, 288km south of Seoul, after reporting a bird strike during lan
  
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• The stock market winners and losers of 2025

  22-12-2025 06:00
  Chips, gold and guns have triumphed while ad companies and private equity struggled
  
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• China uses green tech dominance to take early lead in clean fuels race

  22-12-2025 06:00
  Companies use wind and solar energy to produce green ammonia and methanol
  
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• Best of 2025: Life in a ‘sinking nation’: Tuvalu’s dreams of dry land – podcast

  22-12-2025 06:00
  Every Monday and Friday for the rest of December we will publish some of our favourite audio long reads of 2025, in case you missed them, with an introduction from the editorial team to explain why we’ve chosen it.From September: with sea levels rising, much of the nation’s population is confronting the prospect that their home may soon cease to exist. Where are they going to go?By Atul Dev. Read by Mikhail Sen Continue reading...
  
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• Japan official warns on yen’s ‘sudden’ weakness

  22-12-2025 04:32
  Traders see higher potential for government intervention to support currency
  
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• ‘Slightly haunted but manageable’: new signs cause confusion – and delight – in Christchurch

  22-12-2025 03:28
  Six absurdist signs resembling official city council information boards have popped up across New Zealand’s second-largest cityOutside an abandoned building in New Zealand’s second-biggest city, a sign reads “slightly haunted but manageable”. In the middle of a busy shopping strip, pedestrians are warned to keep to a 2.83km/h walking speed. In another part of Christchurch, one piece of signage declares simply “don’t”.The baffling boards are not an overze
  
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• Kimchi, made in China: how South Korea’s national dish is being priced out at home

  22-12-2025 01:39
  In the first 10 months of this year, South Korea imported $159m worth of kimchi, almost entirely from China, while exporting $137mThe pungent scent of red chilli powder hangs in the air at Kim Chieun’s kimchi factory in Incheon, about 30km west of Seoul. Inside, salted cabbage soaks in large metal vats in the first stage of a process that Kim has followed for more than 30 years.But watching over the production line has become increasingly fraught. South Korea imports more kimchi than it ex
  
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• FirstFT: Indonesia sends military to help clear forests at rapid pace

  21-12-2025 23:14
  Also in today’s newsletter: Macro hedge funds enjoy best year since 2008, and fraudsters use AI to fake artwork authenticity
  
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• ‘Miracle’ of Zealandia: chick is born to rare takahē pair thought to be infertile

  21-12-2025 19:00
  Unexpected arrival is a boon for birdlife in New Zealand, where there are only 500 takahē leftA pair of rare native New Zealand takahē birds who were believed infertile have stunned staff at the world’s largest urban eco-sanctuary, after hatching a “miracle” chick.The roughly seven-week old chick was discovered inside Zealandia, a fully fenced eco-sanctuary 10 minutes from Wellington’s city centre, in November, but its arrival has been a closely guarded secret t
  
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• Troubling memories resurface in Davao as authorities trace Bondi shooting suspects’ movements

  21-12-2025 15:00
  Many residents believe alleged gunmen were in Mindanao for ‘tourism, not terrorism’ and say extremist groups in area have been significantly weakenedVictims of Bondi beach shootingTen minutes of terror: how the Bondi mass shooting unfolded in real time – videoFollow the latest live updatesIt was the scariest moment of his life. In September 2016 Gerry Pendon was a mere five metres away from a bomb explosion at the Roxas night market in Davao City. The Islamic State attack kille
  
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• China has set a bear trap for Keir Starmer – and our naive PM is walking straight into it | Simon Tisdall

  21-12-2025 07:00
  The conviction of Jimmy Lai in Hong Kong is another hostile act. How can Britain ignore Beijing’s provocations and human rights abuses?The UK pushed hard to secure the release of Jimmy Lai, the newspaper publisher and British citizen who was a leading light in Hong Kong’s brutally suppressed pro-democracy movement. So, too, did press freedom and human rights campaigners. But the Beijing-appointed high court judges in the former colony convicted him anyway, finding Lai guilty last wee
  
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• Indonesia calls in military to help clear forests at rapid pace

  21-12-2025 06:00
  Deforestation under way on 3mn hectares for state-backed food project
  
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• Chinese stocks cool on weak economic data

  21-12-2025 06:00
  Profit-taking has also brought this year’s steep rally to an end in the last quarter
  
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• Imran Khan and wife given further jail terms after state gift fraud case

  20-12-2025 11:32 via bbc.com
  Pakistan's former PM, who is already serving time in prison, plans to challenge the verdict.
  
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• Australia confronts grief and discord in wake of Bondi Beach massacre

  20-12-2025 03:00
  ‘Lucky country’ seeks to project unity after worst shooting in decades lays bare social tensions
  
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• Kebabs, biryani and much more: Indian city on Unesco culinary list

  20-12-2025 02:41 via bbc.com
  Lucknow recently joined a select list of global cities recognised for their fine food.
  
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• Make Korea great again: The right-wing group wooing disenchanted youth

  20-12-2025 01:45 via bbc.com
  Disgraced president Yoon Suk Yeol has become an unlikely poster boy for anti-government sentiment.
  
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• Roomba rival bets on AI to clean up market for robot vacuum cleaners

  19-12-2025 22:00
  Roborock chief says innovations such as robotic arms and dog excrement recognition are key to survival
  
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• Knife attacker kills three after smoke bombing Taiwan metro

  19-12-2025 21:33 via bbc.com
  The suspect's spree began at Taipei's main metro before he moved to another station nearby.
  
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• Several killed after man goes on violent rampage in Taiwan – video

  19-12-2025 19:16
  At least four people were killed in Taipei on Friday evening, after a mass stabbing around the city's central station. Reports say the suspect is among the dead after he fell from a building during a police chase through a busy shopping district. The suspected attacker has been described as a 27-year-old man from Taoyuan, a northern county in Taiwan Continue reading...
  
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• At least four people killed in mass stabbing in Taipei

  19-12-2025 17:32
  Man, 27, from northern Taiwan reported to have fallen to his death in police chase after rampage through capitalAt least four people have died in a rare mass stabbing incident in central Taipei after an attacker used smoke grenades to cause chaos as he went on a violent rampage through Taiwan’s capital. Several people were also injured.The suspected assailant is among the dead after he fell from a building during a police chase through a busy shopping district on Friday evening. Continue r
  
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